Natural Heritage Program List of Rare Plant Species - Rawlings ...

target conservation activity most efficiently and effectively. Many of the "hotspots" in the 2005 portfolio
have been discovered and protected since 1976 through the activity of the North Carolina Natural Heritage
Program, the North Carolina Plant Conservation Program, The Nature Conservancy, and federal and state
land management agencies.
NC Natural Heritage Program Rare Plant List
BACKGROUND INFORMATION. The North Carolina Natural Heritage Program (NC NHP), as part of
its mission to preserve the biological diversity of North Carolina, maintains an inventory of all known
locations of rare taxa. NC NHP takes the lead role in North Carolina in the inventory of the state's natural
diversity, the identification of important natural areas and rare species habitats, and the protection and
management of natural areas. It serves as the state's data bank of locality information of natural areas and
rare and endangered plant and animal species. It conducts environmental reviews of projects involving state
or federal permits or monies, to minimize negative impacts on North Carolina's natural areas and rare species.
This list incorporates the most recent federal status of rare plants, as determined by the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (USFWS) with amendments current to May 1, 2006. Federally listed species are protected
by the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. The USFWS is the federal agency responsible for
listing and protecting nationally endangered and threatened species.
This list also includes North Carolina legal status information from the most recent version of the NC Plant
Conservation Program (NC PCP) List of North Carolina's Endangered, Threatened and Candidate Plant
Species, which can be found on the website: www.ncplant.com. This website includes discussion of and
information on the legal status of Endangered (E), Threatened (T), and Special Concern (SC) species. NC
PCP, a unit of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, is the agency responsible for the listing
and protection of North Carolina's endangered and threatened plants, under provisions of the North Carolina
Plant Protection and Conservation Act of 1979 (General Statutes, Article 19B, 106: 202.12-22), as amended.
NC PCP acts under the direction of a Plant Conservation Board and with the advice of a Scientific
Committee to maintain and revise the state lists of protected (Endangered, Threatened, and Special Concern)
plant species, to investigate protection needs and survival requirements of native plants, to carry out
conservation programs, to make and enforce regulations, and to issue permits concerning protected plants.
In general, removal of Endangered or Threatened plants from the wild and their sale or distribution is illegal.
Particular regulations concerning collection, propagation, and sale apply to those species (Endangered,
Threatened, or otherwise) listed as Special Concern.
All plant taxa native to North Carolina which are officially recognized by federal or state agencies as
protected or otherwise rare are included on this list. NC NHP, NC PCP, and USFWS work cooperatively
to ensure the continued survival of all of North Carolina's rich flora.
Many species which lack formal, legal protection are nonetheless imperiled in North Carolina. Therefore,
NC NHP collects data on species in addition to the three categories of protected plants (Endangered,
Threatened, and Special Concern). These additional rare species are placed in two other categories of rare
plants: Significantly Rare (SR) and Watch List (W). Definitions of all status categories are listed below,
under "North Carolina Status." NC NHP requests locality and population data on the species listed in this
publication. Plant survey forms have been provided in the back of this publication for this purpose.
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